Former captain of the 9Pandas CS2 team, Denis "seized" Kostin, and reflected on his plans after being removed from the roster. He shared his thoughts during the YouTube show "On the Rugs."
"Overall, I'm not ruling out any possibilities right now. Playing as a player and captain remains my number one option at the moment. But I also see myself as a coach, involved in various media activities, analysis, and so on. However, it all hinges on the fact that I'm not ready to just play CS again for the sake of playing. I'm willing to play if there's an organisation backing me and a roster I can believe in. I don't want a situation where, as it happened to us in Team Singularity, you spend a year nurturing young players, imparting your knowledge, and then, a year later, FORZE comes along and buys a player from you for $10,000. That kind of scenario, I'm no longer ready for.
Many factors need to align for me to continue playing. It has to be something stable, without the priority of making money from player sales and so forth. With ambitions and goals. Not necessarily with an immediately strong roster either. I understand that buyout prices for players are currently inflated, making it very difficult to acquire anyone. I don't know what kind of organisation needs to come along. However, there are a lot of nuances that will need to be considered when making a decision. Right now, my plans involve enjoying my first free summer in 10-12 years."
Seized departed from the main roster of 9Pandas on June 3rd. He represented the club for almost two years. In 2024, the team managed to qualify for PGL Major Copenhagen 2024, but visa issues caused them to miss the event.